Captain
by vampire-elf
Summary: In a happenstance meeting at the bus stop, Niou hears of the trials of Rikkai from Akaya after he and the other third years graduated. He gathers the other team members to give the new captain some encouragement.


The bus was bothersome. It was crowded and expensive, and usually quite smelly. Niou usually preferred walking or biking, but he was going farther than usual today. Even though he was taking the bus for a good cause (visiting some cousins who owed him money), he scowled as he walked down the sidewalk. There was already a smelly crowd awaiting the next bus. Perhaps he would sit out this trip and be the first one on the next bus, which would be less crowded and less smelly.

He stood in the crowd, his hands in his pockets to protect them from the cold breeze that was blowing today. He observed those standing around him, huddled in their hats and coats. His mind was already maneuvering around how these people looked and carried themselves, studying them to see if he could pull off imitating them. It was a subconscious thing he did when surrounded by people; a habit that was brought out from his tennis style––as strange as it sounded, he just couldn't help it anymore.

While he observed those nearby him, the bus came bumbling down the road. Though it was cold, Niou stayed put while everyone around him shuffled into an awkward line. He had decided it would be better to wait for the next bus. One by one, they stepped onto the vehicle's odor-filled depths. Niou watched them until, from the corner of his eye, he saw that someone else had thought of the same idea he had. He was a shorter boy, with a wiry mess of black hair. Niou wouldn't have passed a second glance if he hadn't seen the plaid scarf around the boy's neck or the green blazer he wore. Niou stared for a few seconds, then finally realized who it was beside him. A flash of mixed memories bombarded him and he stood gaping for a few seconds.

For a moment, Niou deliberated with himself on what to do. He could pull a _really_ great prank on the boy. Or he could casually nudge him and make some elaborate, grand reunion. The first option was more his style. But something stopped him. An electric clock down the road had caught his deer-in-the-headlight gaze. It was three thirty in the afternoon. Niou looked at the boy curiously. He hesitated, suddenly feeling awkward. But he finally shook off the strange feeling and spoke.

"Hey, wonderbrat."

The boy looked up in confusion––because nobody called him that anymore, surely––and was stunned when he saw Niou's messy, platinum blonde hair right beside him. Niou imagined that Akaya's expression matched his own from a minute ago.

"Niou?" he said, voice laced with astonishment. A large grin spread across Niou's face.

"_Puri_," he uttered. What he didn't expect was for Akaya's face to suddenly fall, any excitement or shock sinking into what looked like shame. Niou's smile faded at this. Neither spoke for a minute or two. Niou finally decided to break the awkward silence.

"So…shouldn't the captain of the tennis club be at tennis practice?" he asked casually. As a joke, he threw in, "Unless you got kicked off because of your bad grades." Immediately, Niou inwardly slapped himself. This had been an ongoing joke when he and the others had been at Rikkai, but Niou wasn't stupid. He could fit the pieces together. If tennis practice was right after school and lasted at least three or four hours, and Akaya was _not_ at school and had no tennis gear with him…

"No," mumbled Akaya. It half relieved Niou, half made him all the more curious. "No, nothing like that…"

"So…?" Niou pressed, glancing out at the street. "Why isn't our seaweed-headed captain with his team?"

Akaya didn't respond; at least, not for a while. But Niou waited patiently, knowing Akaya would give him an answer eventually if he kept quiet for long enough. And soon, his waiting paid off.

"We've lost," Akaya murmured. "Every single damn match. Win a few, lose the rest. We've been training an extra two hours every day. I'm almost glad you and the others haven't come to watch any of our games."

Niou hadn't been expecting that at all, and the last sentence sent a small pang of guilt through him. "Remember all those people who cheered for us last year, and the year before that? They don't even come to the games anymore. They all say they liked the _good_ tennis team. This year they dubbed us the 'Seaweed Suckers' after yours truly. Everyone knows me as the dopey seaweed-headed captain of the dopey tennis team that loses every damn dopey match."

Niou could detect quite a bit of venom in Akaya's words, and he could understand why. Now all he had to do was think of a good response. A lot of thoughts crossed his mind, though none of them passed his lips. Then he suddenly said, "So why aren't you at tennis practice?"

Akaya turned to him with an incredulous and infuriated look in his green eyes. He gritted his teeth for a moment.

"Did you not hear a _single_ thing I just said?" he growled.

"I heard you, I heard you," Niou defended. "But you still didn't answer my question."

"Cuss, Niou! Why the hell would I need to go to stupid practice? There's no point. I'm a horrible captain. No matter what kind of training we go through, we keep losing, and––" Akaya paused to inhale deeply. "…I sent someone to the hospital a month ago."

Niou hadn't really wanted to hear that, though truthfully, it didn't surprise him much.

"How bad was it?" he said.

"Bad," Akaya muttered, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Two broken ribs, a dislocated shoulder and kneecap, and a sprained ankle and wrist."

"Ah, he'll get over it," Niou sniffed. "And you _still_ haven't answered my question, you runt."

"Niou, _what_ is the point?" Akaya said. His ferocity had sizzled down into sorrow and hopelessness. "There's no use in trying if we're just going to lose. I may as well just quit while I'm ahead."

Niou turned to face Akaya, eyes wide and brows furrowed.

"Quit?" he repeated in disgust. "Quit tennis? After all your hard work? You still haven't beaten the Big Three, and you want to give up now?"

"At this rate, I'll never beat any of them," Akaya mumbled. "I'm coming to terms with something, Niou: I'm terrible at tennis."

The words struck Niou like a brick. They made him angry. He let out a guttural laugh, though it was more of an irritated snort.

"Did you really just say that?" he growled. Akaya cast his gaze to the ground. "Tch! You really are an idiot." He grabbed Akaya around the neck, binding him in a tight headlock.

"Ow! Niou, let go, damn it!" grumbled the boy as he writhed. But he couldn't escape Niou's grasp.

"Sounds to me like you need one hell of a pep talk," Niou sighed. He pulled his phone from his pocket and dialed a number, then put the receiver to his ear. After a few rings, a familiar voice greeted his ear.

"What is it, Niou?" came Yagyuu's calm, always professional voice.

"I have a bit of a situation. Can you make it to Rikkai?" Niou responded coolly.

"Rikkai? Right now?"

"Yep. You can make it."

"I have a lot of homework."

"This is more important."

"Niou––"

"Yagyuu."

There was a small pause. Niou had used his 'I am very serious at the moment' voice, which he never used. This told Yagyuu just how important this really was.

"Are you there now?" Yagyuu asked.

"On my way," Niou answered.

"I'll be there in about twenty minutes."

"See you there." Niou hit the end button only to start dialing another number.

"Niou, stop!" cried Akaya. "What are you doing?"

"Quiet, you baby," Niou snapped. "Ah, Marui! I have a request."

"Niou!" Akaya wailed.

"Could you come to Rikkai? Now. Yagyuu is on his way over. Bring Jackal with you. Yeah. Cool, see you."

"_Niou_!"

The blonde continued ignoring Akaya's cries of alarm, which grew more frantic when Niou phoned Yanagi and Sanada.

"Hey vice captain Sanada, are you busy?"

"What is it Niou?" the man's voice was serious as usual. "And I told you to stop calling me that."

"Can you and captain Yukimura come to Rikkai?"

"…Yukimura's at a doctor's appointment," Sanada muttered. Despite his calm, stoic voice, Niou could easily detect the anxiety in his tone. But he said nothing about it.

"Can you come, then? It's important," he explained.

"How important?"

"Everyone else is already on their way."

Sanada sighed heavily, but said, "I'll be there in a while." Then he promptly hung up. Niou sniffed and put his phone back into his pocket.

"C'mon, seaweed-head," he said, beginning to drag Akaya with him.

"Damn you," huffed Akaya. He sounded both infuriated and terrified. "Why are you doing this?"

"To knock some sense into that big head of yours," Niou replied. He nearly dragged Akaya all the way to the academy. As they approached, Niou grinned, recalling plenty of hilarious memories from the place. He strode around the school towards the tennis courts in back. They were empty, save three people standing in the first court. Niou pulled Akaya past the chain link fence, waving lazily at Yanagi, Marui, and Jackal. They all seemed surprised to see Akaya with Niou.

"Akaya," Marui said before Yanagi could speak. "Long time, no see."

Akaya stumbled when Niou finally released him. He fiddled awkwardly with his scarf.

"Hey," he muttered.

"What's going on? Where's the tennis club, the unbeatable, invincible Rikkai?" Marui asked. He put his hand over his eyes and scanned the barren courts. "Did you scare them off?"

Akaya did not reply. He kept his head low with his eyes locked on a particularly fascinating pebble on the ground.

"Akaya, what's wrong? Shouldn't you be up in arms that nobody's here today? You are the captain, after all," Jackal muttered.

"It's…it's nothing. Practice was cancelled today because of…bad weather."

The others gaped at Akaya, and Niou chuckled.

"Wow, that was the best you could come up with?" he snorted.

"Akaya, what's going on?" inquired Yanagi, his brows knitting in concern. Niou clapped Akaya on the shoulder.

"Why don't we wait for the others to get here so he can explain it to everyone?" he suggested. Marui, Jackal, and Yanagi looked uncertain, but nodded in agreement. They chatted idly until Yagyuu showed up, closely followed by Sanada.

"What's this all about, Niou, Kirihara?" Sanada asked (or rather, demanded), folding his arms and scanning his dark eyes over the pair. Niou gave Akaya a shove and he staggered forward, into the midst of the others, who all waited expectantly. Akaya grimaced and stared hard at the ground. Finally, though, he related all the things he'd told Niou at the bus stop. They all listened intently, and when he finished, silence fell over them.

"So…remind me why there's no tennis practice today? Marui said. "I mean, if you've been sucking that much, doesn't that mean you need to practice _more_?"

"I tried asking the same thing," murmured Niou.

"No…no, there's no damn point!" Akaya cried, throwing his hands up in frustration. "We've been dominated by every single school."

Niou had been watching Sanada the entire time, whose stern face had slowly been contorted with anger.

"Kirihara," he growled. Akaya tried not to flinch at Sanada's furious voice. He did flinch, though, when Sanada strode forward and slammed his fist against the boy's face. In fact, Akaya didn't just flinch. He was thrown back and to the ground. "What the hell is this?"

"I…I'm sorry," Akaya muttered, sitting up slowly and wiping his lip. "I thought I would be a good captain… I-I really wanted to win the nationals this year…"

"Kirihara," grunted Sanada. "This is unacceptable. I've never been so infuriated with your recklessness!"

"I'm sorry, okay?" cried Akaya. "I'm sorry I dragged the all-powerful Rikkai into the depths of tennis hell! I'm sorry we've lost so miserably!"

"Akaya," said Yanagi calmly. "That's not why we're concerned."

"Well, maybe a little," muttered Marui. Jackal swatted him in the arm.

"I'm upset because you're giving in! Rikkai does _not_ give in! There is no quitting! That's for the weak, and Rikkai is _not_ weak!" Sanada barked.

"We are now," Akaya mumbled. Sanada leaned over and grasped Akaya by his jacket, yanking him to his feet. He jabbed a finger into Akaya's face as if it were the most deadly weapon in the world. To Akaya, it probably was.

"If I hear you gripe one more time about this, I'll use your head as a tennis ball in my next match!" Sanada huffed.

"Nice threat," Niou said off-handedly. Sanada seemed to bristle a bit.

"Have a match with me," Sanada said. "No––with all of us."

"W-what?" Akaya said, eyes widening a bit. "Why?"

"Because I said so. Niou, Jackal, go get some racquets and balls," commanded Sanada. Niou smirked and held out his hand to Akaya. After a moment, the boy understood and grudgingly shoved a hand into his pocket. He pulled out a small set of keys and tossed them to the blonde.

"_Piriin_," Niou mused, and he and Jackal went to the supply closet. Niou liked where this was going. Leave it to Sanada to help Akaya by ruining his life. Or was it the other way around? Niou chuckled to himself, and Jackal glanced at him. But he had learned not to question these small fits of laughter from the trickster.

When they returned, Niou had a few tennis racquets hoisted onto his shoulder while Jackal pushed a cart of balls into the court. When they arrived, Akaya was on one side of the net and Marui was on the other. He was blowing a large sea-green bubble from his mouth. It popped when he turned to Niou and Jackal. He quickly inhaled the drooping pieces of gum.

"Thanks, errand boys," he said cheerfully. Niou's eyes narrowed and he threw a racquet to Marui and Akaya. Jackal tossed one of the bright yellow-green balls to the redhead, who easily caught it. Niou and Jackal walked over to the far end of the court, where the others were standing and watching.

"Are you really going to make him play against all of us?" Yagyuu commented as he adjusted his glasses.

"Why wouldn't I?" Sanada said. "This will help him."

"Or kill him," Niou added. The match, which was only one set, began with a powerful serve from Marui. Akaya returned it with just as much strength. The match continued for quite a while with Yanagi calling the score. Marui finally won with one of his sly net-walking balls that Akaya missed by centimeters.

"Game set, won by Marui," Yanagi called. Marui walked over to the net, holding out his hand and smiling.  
>"Good game!" he said. Akaya snorted and walked over to the ball, picking it up and pointing his racquet at Jackal.<p>

"Hurry up," he ordered. "I'm cold."

Marui walked to the others and handed his racquet to Jackal. As the tan boy walked to the court, he rubbed his bald head, probably thinking about how he should have worn a hat today. He spun the racquet in his hand as he entered his side of the court.

"Don't hold back," he called. Akaya sniffed and threw the ball into the air before hitting it against the gut of the racquet with all his might. But with Jackal's iron, air-tight defense, this rapidly became a battle of endurance. The game ended nearly forty minutes later, and Jackal had won. Akaya looked livid, and he glared at Sanada, gasping for breath.

"You're just doing this to watch me fail, huh?" he shouted bitterly. "You're such a freaking bastard."

"Kirihara," Sanada responded coolly, "you're worried too much about losing. Just play to have fun."

"What?"

"Don't you remember when Ryoma Echizen beat captain Yukimura? He didn't concern himself with the outcome of the game. He was playing because he enjoyed playing." Sanada gestured to the court. "You try. Yagyuu, you're up."

The brunette stepped forward, choosing a different racquet than the one Jackal offered. He stepped onto the court and caught the ball that Akaya threw to him. Their game began soon after. Akaya seemed to put up more of a fight, but he still lost the game. He wasn't quick enough to catch Yagyuu's laser beam attacks. As Yagyuu walked to the others, Jackal said, "Is this really helping, vice captain? It looks like he's just getting pissed off."

"Look again," panted Yagyuu. He took his glasses off, wiping the fog from the lenses as he approached the others. "He's not as angry as you think."

The others looked at Akaya while Niou entered the court. The boy was panting heavily, wiping the sweat from his brow. He had a light in his eyes, one that wasn't tinted with anger. As Akaya bounced the ball on the ground, Niou grinned at him, and he scowled in response.

"There's no need to thank me for my good deed," the blonde said.

"Screw you," Akaya snarled.

"Heh…_piyo_." Niou prepared himself, squatting a bit, and Akaya served.

It bothered Niou slightly that Akaya nearly beat him. True, Niou had won, but Akaya had come up at 30. Two more points and it would have been a tiebreak. Niou strode off the court and was replaced with Yanagi. He beat Akaya in less than ten minutes. By the end of the match, though, Akaya was leaning on his knees, gasping for breath, sweat streaming down his face and neck.  
>"If this keeps up, he's gonna pass out," murmured Jackal.<p>

"You still have one more opponent," Sanada said as he walked confidently onto the court. "Then you can rest."

"Tch! I'll beat you into the ground before I ever take a break," Akaya sneered. Niou's lips lifted in a sly smile.

"That's the Akaya we know," Marui said, also smiling. The set with Sanada began, and with it, small white flakes began to drift from the sky. The match went on for a surprisingly long time, and the snow began to fall a bit heavier. As the others pulled their jackets further over their bodies, they knew Sanada was holding back. He was drawing out the match on purpose.

"Akaya is stronger," Yanagi commented, reading everyone else's mind (as usual).

"We've gotten stronger too, you know," Marui defended with a pout.

"Of course we have, we're in high school now. But Akaya has––"

" '––advanced quite a bit in the last year,' " Yanagi finished for Yagyuu. A small frown crossed the brunette's face. Yanagi opened his eyes and added, " 'He's much faster now, and he's in much better control of his emotions.' " He passed a sideways glance at Yagyuu. "…is what you were going to say."

They returned their attention to the match just in time to see Sanada score his last winning point.

"Game set, won by Sanada," Yanagi called. Akaya sank to his knees, chest heaving, gulping in as much air as he possibly could. The cold air probably wasn't helping his breathing at all.

"D…damn it," he puffed. "Damn it, Sanada! I was…going to…beat you… I was going to…beat you today!"

"Kirihara," said Sanada, walking to the net. He aimed his racquet at the boy, who kept his head low. "You were strong when you were on our team last year. You've gotten even stronger since then. You're a fine example of what Rikkai tennis means––strength, determination, and hard work. There is no reason you can't lead your team to victory."

"Sh…shut up," Akaya huffed, but there was no bite to the words. "D-damn you."

"Oi, captain."

Akaya barely turned his head to see the others approaching. They were all smiling at him. "Don't disappoint us," Niou said. "If you give up now, that makes you a real sucker."

"You have a perfect opportunity to teach these new members what it means to be part of Rikkai. Don't waste it by focusing on the losses," Yanagi said.

"Have fun!" Marui cheered.

"Go dominate everyone," Jackal said with a smile.

"You'll definitely rise to the top if you keep trying," Yagyuu commented.

"_Puri_," Niou huffed. Akaya, quivering on his hands and knees, gritted his teeth.

"You're all bastards," he uttered. "Damn you all…"

The others stood around him, allowing him to catch his breath before he looked up, tears streaming from his eyes. "I'm gonna win the nationals for you guys and captain Yukimura!" Akaya wailed, and let out a desperate choke. "Rikkai's gonna make a damn good comeback!"

"That's what I want to hear," Sanada said, and his eyes flashed with a bit of pride and satisfaction. "Lead your teammates to victory, captain Kirihara."

Akaya slumped onto the ground, still wiping his eyes and trying hard to stifle his crying. Though he did his best to hide his weeping, he eventually just gave in and allowed the sobs to wrack his body. The others stood silently, patiently beside him, waiting for him to calm himself. Akaya cried for a few minutes longer before he finally quieted, wiping his nose on the back of his hand.

"You…you can't tell anyone about this," he panted. "You can't tell anyone."

"Fine, fine," murmured Marui. He ruffled Akaya's hair. "It's good to know our little second-year ace is growing into a man."

Akaya mumbled something inaudible and fell silent after that, simply watching the snow land on the ground.

By the time they gathered their things to leave, it was nearly dark outside. The high schoolers bid farewell to Akaya and headed off the school grounds. Akaya watched them go, but ran to the curb with his fists clenched.

"Everyone!" he shouted. They paused and turned to look at him. "I'll make you proud! I'll bring you the first place trophy of the nationals!"

"Akaya, that's yours to keep, if you win," Yanagi said, and a small smile crossed his face. Akaya pursed his lips, willing himself not to break down again. Niou passed him, but Akaya grabbed his arm.

"Thank you…Niou," he murmured. Niou smiled and made a passive wave before walking away with the others, leaving Akaya alone on the curb, watching through the snow as his friends left once more. He clenched his fist as he fought off another onslaught of tears, his chest feeling heavy with emotion. "Thank you, everyone."


End file.
